It's Important Because It Ends.
Let's work until we die. That's also an option.
I enjoy the work I do, I think a lot of you do too. Some of you are building companies or campaigns or projects from the ground up that you genuinely believe in. Some of you are just trying to get the rent paid this month or keep the lights on. Both are totally legitimate. The bills don’t ask how you’re feeling about your job before they take the money from your account.
Work is also helpful in creating structure and purpose, and (quite frankly) something to talk about at dinner when the conversation gets stale. There’s nothing better than telling stories from work, especially when the stakes feel low. Work can be the thing that feels fulfilling in surprising ways, but it can also be the thing that keeps you from thinking about everything else. And that second part is where things can get a wee bit dark.
Because (and this is gonna sound a bit cheesy, but stick with me) your life is happening whether you’re paying attention to it or not. The seasons outside your office window are changing, your friends are getting older, and so are your parents.
My Dad went to the DMV the other day to renew his license. He said the only change he had to make was his hair color - switching it from brown to gray. I guess time really is moving forward.
I’m definitely guilty of spending too much time working and ignoring other parts of my life. Big decisions I’ve needed to make have been put off because a big campaign is underway (but there’s always another big campaign or a big pitch).
Nothing actually pauses because you’re on a deadline. Everything just moves forward without you in it. The Fall will come, then Winter, even if you don't look up from your screens to see it. So, maybe it’s time to stop waiting.
Do the personal project you’ve been putting off. The one that you develop the idea for a little bit more every time you’re lying in bed at 2am.
Meet a friend for drinks even though it’s a Tuesday.
Get rejected in the pursuit of human connection. Ask someone out. Tell someone you miss them.
Cry in the shower to a sad song.
Or take a shower in the middle of the workday. (I consider this the single greatest perk of working from home).
Invite your grandma over for pasta. Or go to hers.
Take a walk around your neighborhood and wave to the old ladies watering their gardens. They will wave back.
Read a book aloud to yourself in a British accent.
Print out every photo you love and hang them on your walls with push pins. (I have a hack for covering the holes with soap when you move, just DM me).
Stay up all night watching reality TV even if you’re tired the next day.
Your work can be important. But your life should be important too. And the thing about life is that it doesn’t send you a calendar invite before it moves on without you.
It’s important because it ends.
Xx, Caitlin
If you’re new here, I write a monthly serialized novel called Everything is Advertising, about a burned-out Creative Director and his cynical team that accidentally create QAnon through a viral marketing campaign. If you like that kind of thing, you can start at Part One and catch up from there.
Every Monday, Above the Fold breaks down what’s running in advertising, what’s landing, and what’s a total disaster.
Every Friday, The Business of Advertising shares lessons from over a decade working on the front lines of advertising.
Love!
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